International labor migration is an important sector of the Indonesian economy in its own right, requiring commensurate efforts to improve its professionalism as a sector and instill modernization across its various components to maximize its potential for the benefit of all stakeholders.This report aims to point towards the best policy mix for Indonesia’s various international migrant worker groups who face widely differing risks and gain diverse economic benefits from migration.
... See More + Following introduction, Section 2 of the report looks at the major profiles of Indonesian migrant workers and their reasons for migrating. Section 3 focuses on the discussion about female domestic workers. Section 4 delves into the issue of undocumented migration, including the government’s efforts to encourage documented migration. Section 5 then looks as how best to sustain the benefits of migration, with particular reference to a third profile of migrant workers, namely those who work in the more developed countries of East Asia and who generally earn the highest wages. Finally, Section 6 rounds off the report with broad policy recommendations
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This Migration and Development Brief reports global trends in migration and remittance flows, major policy developments, and the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators for reducing remittance costs and recruitment costs.
... See More + The Brief reports new data on recruitment costs, a potential indicator for the SDG of promoting safe and regular migration. The special focus of the Brief is return migration, currently a challenging issue globally following the increase in asylum seekers and undocumented migrants.
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Most Europe and Central Asia (ECA) economies are showing more rapid growth than previously expected, reflecting a strengthening of growth in industrial production and exports in recent months.
... See More + Export growth in the region continues to exceed that in the rest of the world. With the robust cyclical performance, countries are shifting their focus toward structural challenges that are part of the new normal after the financial crisis and the fall in commodity prices.Technological advancement, the globalization of production and work, and the challenges caused by lower commodity prices have contributed to a rise in public anxiety. It came to the surface as the number of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants in the region rose, leading to concerns about immigration in general. Often lost in the current debate is the fact that the number of refugees in ECA is not unprecedented, that surges tend to be temporary, that refugees represent just a small share of the total number of migrants and that migration has long been vital to the region, with ECA economies reaping substantial benefits from cross-border labor mobility. Migration patterns are likely to change with technological progress and further cross border connectivity, and competition for high-quality jobs will become more intense. Reforms should help both migrants and non migrants cope with the inevitable increase in flexibility in labor markets—by, for example, ensuring the portability of benefits, increasing income security for workers, and better integrating migrants in host countries.
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The Western Balkan countries, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, the former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia, achieved strong growth and poverty reduction since the start of the transition to market economies.
... See More + Despite progress, today the six Western Balkan countries remain among the poorest in Europe, overtaken by the more successful neighboring countries in terms of convergence to EU standards of living. In summary, to converge faster to EU living standards, the Western Balkan countries need to continue to pursue a ‘three-pronged’ effort by implementing in parallel prudent macroeconomic policies, bold structural reforms, and measures to advance economic integration. Macroeconomic and fiscal stability, accompanied by decisive structural reforms are two necessary conditions to promote a sustainable and strong growth model, one that is based on private sector growth, investment, and higher exports. Structural reforms are key to unlocking the benefits of regional integration including productivity gains, investments, and job creation, all of which will support convergence to EU living standards. Indeed, economic integration is linked to productivity, as productivity is inherent in achieving economies of scale. And the speed and depth of reforms that rekindle income convergence will help advance the pace of economic integration.
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The paths of many migrants include multiple destinations and transit routes, yet this pattern is almost never reflected in empirical analyses. For example, 9 percent of recent immigrants to the United States arrived from a transit country as opposed to the country where they were born.
... See More + Among those arriving from many high-income countries, the transit migration ratio exceeds 30 percent. To explain these patterns, this paper constructs a dynamic model of global migration that allows transit migration opportunities to impact the attractiveness of locations. After estimating the structural parameters of the model, the paper simulates various counterfactual scenarios to highlight the spillovers of transit migration paths.
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This is a statement by Jiayi Zou at the executive directors' meeting of September 6, 2005 concerning the strengthening the development partnership for achieving the MDGs for China.
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